Many software programs are currently available that allow a user to scan a number of paper documents and save them in a single electronic document. The electronic document is typically arranged as a sequence of individual pages. The software programs allow recipients to view, modify, print and store the electronic document. One example of such a document editing program is Adobe Acrobat from Adobe Systems Incorporated of San Jose, Calif.
In many instances, however, the paper documents are scanned in a random, unorganized sequence, which makes it difficult and time-consuming to find a particular page within the electronic document. One solution can be to manually organize the paper documents prior to scanning; however, the individual organizing the paper documents or performing the scanning may not have the skill, knowledge or time needed to correctly organize the paper documents. Additionally, organizing the paper documents prior to scanning can be very time-consuming and expensive. Further, organizing the pages prior to scanning might properly order the pages, but it does not generate a table of contents, metadata, bookmarks or a hierarchical index that would facilitate finding a particular page within the complete set of pages.
Ultimately, the recipient may want the pages of the electronic document organized in a specific order to facilitate finding a particular page in timely and inexpensive manner. For example, an assistant may scan forty pages of tax documents in a random order and save the result in an electronic document. In this example, an accountant may then need to organize the pages of the electronic document in a specific order so that navigating through the electronic document during the preparation and review of an income tax return can be performed in an accurate and efficient manner.
One way that the recipient of an electronic document can organize the pages is by using the thumbnail, metadata and/or bookmark features of the document editing software program. Manually organizing an electronic document, including typing a table of contents, metadata, bookmarks or a hierarchical index, is time-consuming and expensive. Manual organization tends to be ad-hoc, failing to deliver a standardized table of contents, metadata, bookmarks or a hierarchical index for the electronic document.
Another way that the recipient of an electronic document can organize the pages is by using software that assists in manually categorizing document pages. The software provides a user a pre-identified set of types of documents and associates each page with the type selected by the user. This approach requires the recipient to manually categorize each page, a time-consuming and expensive process.